Shepherdess
by meadow-music
Summary: Across the lands of Bayern, Tira, and Kildenree; five babes entered the world with the first word of a language on their tongue. The first four had the first word of nature-speaking. The fifth had a special unique word. "protect"- That girl was me.
1. Prologue

A/N: I have always loved Goose Girl and have a great respect for Shannon Hale, so I have decided to write this piece. It will probably have between 5 - 7 chapters. It takes place throughout _The Books Of Bayern._ The point of view may change from time to time.

Disclaimer: I do not own _The Books of Bayern _unfortunately.

**The Shepherdess**

Let me tell you a story.

It may be my story or someone else's but I will tell it now and you will find out.

A princess' aunt once told a young royal a story. A story about how The Creator spoke the first word and all that lived on the earth awoke and opened their minds and mouths to say the word. She said that through many patterns of stars, they once all spoke to one another. However, over time, the languages were forgotten. The Aunt pauses here and reminds the little princess that as long as there is movement and harmony , there are words.

The aunt tells Anidori, for she is the princess, that some people are born with the first word of a language resting on their tongue; though it may take some time to taste it. There are three gifts, she said; the gift of animal-speaking, the gift of people-speaking, and the gift of nature speaking.

That year the aunt left.

However that is not the focus of my tale.

Across the lands of Bayern, Tira, and Kildenree, five babes entered the world with the first word of a language on their tongues.

The first was a baby princess with hair as golden as a beam of sunlight through an open window.

The second was a girl with hair as black as coal.

The third, also of noble birth, was a girl with hair as red and orange as fire.

The fourth, a girl with hair as brown as tree bark.

The fifth, a girl with hair brown that shined golden and auburn in the sun.

The first four had the first words of nature-speaking on their tongue.

The fifth did not. Her word was special, unique.

That babe had the word "protect" on her tongue.

That child was me.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Books of Bayern. _All credit for those books goes to Shannon Hale.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

I would never truly taste the word on my tongue until I was at least twelve or thirteen.

I was born in Bayern. However, I never stepped in the town and saw the castle until I was thirteen.

I grew up a Forest-dweller.

I grew up near Razo and his family and close to Ma Gilsa.

I had lots of fun with Razo and Finn. I grew up around boys. I was able to use a slingshot by the age of seven. I lived with my parents and my two brothers.

* * *

I haven't introduced myself have I?

My name is Alianna Isabella Aurore. My last name is known to my parents only. However, my name is so long that everybody just calls me Alianna, Ali, or Lia.

My name has my mother's name and my father's mother's middle name. However, it was my grandmother (on my mother's side) who suggested Alianna. Her name is Alessandra ( we call her Nana). She grew up in the city so she knew how to read and write. She taught my mother and she taught me and my siblings. I love to go visit her. She lives relatively close; on the other side of Gilsa's home. She makes delicious food and is very welcoming to all.

I have two brothers. Xander, his name is Alexander but everybody calls him Xander, is my elder brother. He is a true Forest-dueller. He loves it. My younger brother, Elliott, enjoys the forest as well, however he has a mischievous side too. I love them both, however I was closer to Xander for he was a role model to me; a protector, a second father sometimes.

* * *

Razo and Finn were my best friends. We were always very close, they are like brothers to me. Both of them are a year younger than I am but that didn't matter to us. We would play together often. I was there when Razo lost his father, I was the first person he ran to. I gave him a hug and a shoulder to cry on. I was also there when Finn's father passed away. Again I was a shoulder to cry on and a comforting presence. They, in turn, were there for me when I lost my grandfather- he was very dear to me. If I was troubled and my family was busy, I would always run to one of them and they would listen to me. We comforted each other.

By a very young age, I was helping everybody. I would often run errands for Razo's Ma and collect herbs for Gilsa. I helped my mother around the house and with the cooking. I would frequently go scavenger hunting with Xander and Elliott. When Rinna was born, Razo and I looked after her.

Besides Gilsa, Ma, Mother, and Nana I had a few girlfriends. I had my countless cousins. But they did not visit often. So I never _really _had any contact with girls. That all changed when I was thirteen.

By the time I was thirteen, I have begun to discover the word on my tongue.

* * *

I have discovered the word _"PROTECT"_ meant I had the abilities of all three languages. However, somewhat lighter; I had the abilities of air( or wind), fire(or warmth), tree(or earth), and water; but at a smaller scale. I was able to balance the four languages but I was only able to do the easier things. I was not able to take the air out of people's lungs but I was able to assist in getting air back in. I could not burn people from the inside; however, I could provide warmth. I could not fill a person's lungs with liquid either (effectively drowning them) either. I have the gift of people speaking but it was not so powerful. Unlike _Selia _(I say that word with so much disgust even years later) I did not command people to do my bidding, instead I comforted them; I never used this ability for my own personal gain ( I learnt that early). My animal-speaking skills were not powerful but present. I was able to track people and sense other's emotions. Keep in mind, I have learnt all of this throughout the years and I do not think I will ever stop learning. I believe my purpose is to keep balance. To make sure that there are still places where animals can understand one another; to make sure people don't abuse the gifts they have been given.

* * *

_To Protect._


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I do not own _The Books of Bayern. _ All credit to those books goes to Shannon Hale.

**Chapter 2**

Soon after I turned thirteen, I left the Forest.

You see; Razo, Mother, and I had been discussing it. Razo yearned to go to the city, I admit I was pretty excited myself, and his Ma needed the extra coin. So did our family. Our garden was not doing as well as it was last year. Any money was welcome. We talked it over with Finn as well and he wished us luck. He said that he would visit every market day.

So that very week, Razo and I journeyed out of the forest. All we had was the clothes on our back and a silver coin each.

We reached the city the next day. We immediately went to the castle, Nana instructed us to do so as she had grown up here, and requested an audience with the king. When we saw the king we politely asked for jobs. He told us that there were two jobs tending the king's animals. We agreed and he sent us in the direction of the Royal Animal Keeper. He informed us that she looked over all the different animal keepers.

When we knocked on the door we were met by a stern looking woman. She introduced herself as Ideca. She guided us over to the sheep pasture and introduced us to the other sheep boys. We met Offo and Sifrid as well as other boys. Currently I am one of two sheep girls within the animal keepers. We met Enna and Beier. Enna tended to the chickens and Beier tended to the pigs. Many of the boys tended to the sheep or the cows. I also met Conrad, the goose boy; he seems pleasant but could be foul when in a bad mood.

All of them were Forest born too. We found out that Enna lived nearby- three hours walk. She lived in the Sprucegrove area.

Animal-Keeping was hard work but fulfilling. I made some friends. The sheep were relatively well behaved. I sent the coins to my family every month.

Soon came my fourteenth birthday- it happened to fall on a marketday.

That morning I awoke and stretched. I put on my tunic and went to eat breakfast. When I got to the breakfast hall I was in for a surprise. As soon as I stepped into the hall everybody cheered and wished me a happy birthday. I got hugs from my friends and an extra raisin bun. Then at marketday, I saw Finn who said my family wished me a happy birthday. He also gave me a package. Inside were a bandanna and two woolen caps. One in the soft warm colors and the second in cool colors, I gave him a huge hug and said I loved them both. There, Finn met Enna. They seemed to set it off pretty well, but I'm not one to pry.

And then came the attack.


End file.
